News: Revs, Revere "in final stages" of talks on Wonderland Stadium

Discussion in 'New England Revolution' started by Mike Marshall, Sep 20, 2012.

  1. RevsFanDan

    RevsFanDan Member

    May 24, 2005
    North Shore
    Club:
    SSC Napoli
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    If this coincided with finally finishing the Northeast corridor/Route 1 across Rumney Marsh(Already fill in place for the highway, placed there 40 years ago) it would be awesome...
     
  2. UPStruk

    UPStruk Member

    Jan 28, 2008
    boston
    Here is a list of the sites I know of that have been rumored for a Revs Stadium and updates on what is happening at each one.

    1) The first site I remember hearing about was on Tremont Street in Roxbury. I believe it was going to be a joint venture with Northeastern. That particular site has not yet been developed but I beilive the BRA has approved a large mixed use commercial and residential development. The latest news is that Northeastern may be looking to build a new athletic facility on Columbus Ave at Ruggles station. See Curbed Boston article below:

    http://boston.curbed.com/archives/2012/09/northeastern-u-to-transform-columbus-ave-lot.php#more

    2) The second site publicized for a stadium was near Inner Belt Rd in Somerville. There was early proposals to build the stadium over a new Greenline Maintenance Facility. The greenline extension does not yet have commitments for complete financing. A contact has been awarded for the continued design of the extension.

    http://somerville.patch.com/article...ion-design-contract?ncid=newsltuspatc00000001

    3) The current flavor of the week is Wonderland at Revere Beach.

    Here are a list of sites never officially publicized but seem possible.

    4) The site at Assembly Square which Ikea owns and plans to sell has been discussed on various online message boards for a stadium but no mention has been made public by any officials. Somerville has noted the possibility that they may take the land by eminent demand if the land is not developed. The Developers of the adjacent Assembly Row project (currently under construction) has stated they may be interested in buying the property.

    5) There are plans by the City of Boston to rebuilt and reconfigure the roads around Sullivan Square in Charlestown (adjacent to Assembly Square and Inner Belt Rd). Below is a link to the project's website. This road work would help with traffic created by a stadium in the area and also make the area more pedestrian friendly. The work would also create developable land around the T stop which could house a stadium. (I think this is unlikely).

    http://www.cityofboston.gov/transportation/rutherford/

    6) My dark horse stadium site is Lower Broadway in Everett (directly across the Mystic River from Sullivan and Assembly Squares). There is an urban development plan underway by the City to focus new development to the area. If Sullivan Square is rebuilt in a more pedestrian friendly way as planned it would not be a terrible walk from the station across the river into Everett. The City is also interested in adding a new commuter rail station along the existing tracks through this area. This area was once discussed for a new Baseball Stadium for the Red Sox. Below is a link to the most current presentation from the study.

    http://www.ci.everett.ma.us/Everett...918 LowerBroadwayPresentationFinal_Sept18.pdf
     
  3. Revs In First :)

    Aug 15, 2001
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I really hope that something, somewhere actually happens someday. As for now, THIS is the only place where a Revs SSS will ever be built.
    [​IMG]
     
    Topher22 repped this.
  4. abecedarian

    abecedarian Member+

    Mar 25, 2009
    SSSomerville
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    You were in your previous post, which is the only reason I brought it up.

    If you're just talking about knocking out the rotaries, obviously it's cheaper, but it's also of limited effectiveness. These are not controlled-access highways we're talking about. You still have traffic lights and side roads, all of which can cause traffic to back up.

    That said, I'm not sure there's any appetite for going whole hog and putting an interstate through Revere. So the more limited approach is probably in the end what will happen -- and it'll definitely help, but only to a degree. And while they're doing it it's going to be a total pain in the ass.
     
  5. Achowat

    Achowat Member+

    Mar 21, 2011
    Revere, MA
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    The problem is that the current Revs fans are, frankly, not high enough in number to really support a Major League team. That's the unfortunate situation, and it's not your fault, but it's the fault of every Tom, Dick, and Harry who lives on the South Shore and Metro-West (where Gillette is easier) who doesn't come and pack the Razor.
     
  6. Mike Marshall

    Mike Marshall Member+

    Feb 16, 2000
    Woburn, MA
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Wow... so Revere could conceivably pick up the property for little/no cost as part of the Suffolk Downs mitigation package? Suffolk Downs and/or the state could fund much of the traffic improvements in the area, and all Kraft would really have to pay for would be construction costs?

    I'm going out on a limb. I think this happens.
     
  7. abecedarian

    abecedarian Member+

    Mar 25, 2009
    SSSomerville
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I agree, it's looking a lot more likely.

    I wonder if Somerville does anything crazy to try to get back into the game.
     
  8. Achowat

    Achowat Member+

    Mar 21, 2011
    Revere, MA
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    If Somerville was in the business of doing something crazy, they would have by now
     
  9. Weber King

    Weber King Member

    Sep 28, 2001
    North Andover, MA
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    One would theorize that if Kraft can get a land deal for an SSS, he'd move ahead.

    Land acquisition costs have been beyond prohibitive thus far. That said, if the City of Revere is able to acquire the Wonderland site (which is made up of 13 separate parcels per the recorded deed - I have a copy of it right here as I type) and work out a lease agreement (say 99 years at $1.00 a year) where Kraft agrees to share some sort of revenue such as parking fees or a local meal tax to help defray the City's costs, it would be the ideal situation.

    The big question is who would pay for the actual stadium construction and infrastructure improvements? Perhaps the City might be able to eke out some additional funds from the Suffolk Downs folk. Who knows?

    While Revere is considering a possible SSS at Wonderland would be of value to the City, I have a hard time thinking Somerville values the failed IKEA site the same way. That land is much more valuable and I'd imagine the city would look for a number of development options that would be more beneficial and lucrative for the tax base than a Revs SSS there.
     
    RevsFanDan repped this.
  10. LongDuckDong

    LongDuckDong Member+

    Jan 26, 2011
    Club:
    FC Schalke 04
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I was thinking about something along the lines of Storrow Drive. Ideally, you'd eliminate most (if not all) of the traffic lights. The interchanges wouldn't be full highway interchanges, but rather compact, low speed, and low land impact ramps.

    I think better access to public transit would be the better investment. Ensure that there's access to Wonderland and Revere Beach stations from all around and reduce car traffic on residential streets.
     
  11. revsrock

    revsrock Member+

    Jul 24, 1999
    Boston Ma
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I don't want that because that would mean Field Turf. All state soccer sectional finals and state finals must be played on Field turf.
     
  12. SeñorFutbol

    SeñorFutbol Member

    Feb 15, 2006
    My gut feeling...if a SSS is ever to be built that KSG will go with Field Turf regardless.

    This organization doesn't care about the finer intricacies when it comes to the sport of football/soccer. Unfortunately it's these things that I look to first to judge if a club is truly serious about the sport in this country.

    It would be a shame if a SSS goes with turf as it's an opportunity to showcase the sport best, but also it wouldn't be a deal breaker for me.

    Ideally a large complex with multiple Turf fields for practices and local leagues to use throughout the week and a grass field in the SSS is the best option IMO.
     
  13. Achowat

    Achowat Member+

    Mar 21, 2011
    Revere, MA
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I don't know, if you build an SSS, you want to be able to showcase it for US teams, not necessarily USMNT, but the U- teams and the women.

    If Kraft is going to do this, I'm sure he'll have someone ask someone to ask the Hunts, Uncle Phil, the new SKC owners, etc exactly what to do.
     
  14. Revs In First :)

    Aug 15, 2001
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    The Revs org takes a lot of deserved crap, but I have a hard time believing that they would ever build a SSS and then be stupid enough to put in a plastic pitch.
     
  15. Soccer Doc

    Soccer Doc Member+

    Nov 30, 2001
    Keene, NH
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    My reading of the Runes suggest your right.
     
  16. LongDuckDong

    LongDuckDong Member+

    Jan 26, 2011
    Club:
    FC Schalke 04
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    This. I doubt there would be any benefits to using an artificial pitch. I imagine they'll use a hybrid plastic/real pitch if they're worried about durability.
     
  17. Throwball

    Throwball New Member

    Aug 15, 2012
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States

    Kraft has always wanted to get into the Boston concert market. Both he and the city of Revere will want to maximize the usage of any facility located there. Even the "SSS" stadium is Houston had faint hash marks and was all chewed up because of football games that were played there.
     
  18. LongDuckDong

    LongDuckDong Member+

    Jan 26, 2011
    Club:
    FC Schalke 04
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    This is really a non issue. As mentioned before, plenty of European stadiums host concerts and matches year round without issue on Desso or similar systems.
     
  19. abecedarian

    abecedarian Member+

    Mar 25, 2009
    SSSomerville
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Maybe, but this Wonderland deal should seriously increase their sense of urgency.
     
  20. Sandon Mibut

    Sandon Mibut Member+

    Feb 13, 2001


    OK, we're not quite there yet, but getting closer. Mostly I wanted an excuse to use that video clip! But, seriously, it does look more optimistic than in the past. The most important part is there appear to be local, influential pols that want this to happen and there's a path to get Kraft the lands he'd need to commit to paying for a stadium.

    Best of luck to you guys.
     
    patfan1 repped this.
  21. Argyle

    Argyle Member

    Jan 31, 2002
    Plymouth, MA
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    There's never been much support for publicly funded stadiums in Massachusetts, so I think it's a safe guess that Kraft would be expected to pay for that. Infrastructure is a different matter, developers are often willing to pay for that. If everything is wrapped up in the casino package, road improvements will be chump change for Caesars.
     
  22. RevsFanDan

    RevsFanDan Member

    May 24, 2005
    North Shore
    Club:
    SSC Napoli
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I can't even begin to grasp this. Most likely due to my 2 decade disdain for Kraft. There has to be some magic mystical item driving this. Because it CANNOT be just Bobby deciding; Wow, look at that Wiz team..what a great complex that is?
    Just thinking about him dropping $50-$200 million on a SSS seems so crazy to me. Especially after all the JK and BK rhetoric that Gillette was specifically built for multi sports, etc..blah blah blah..!
    The true cynic in me wants to believe it was the other MLS owners pressing Krafty! And hopefully some day, just to justify my angst for this monger, some expose will be written about that time in 2009-2010, when Papa Phil and a few other heavies laid the law down and showed him the original stockholder document, etc. that enabled the majority owners to force any other owner to conform or be tossed!! Maybe, someday!!
    But, for whatever reason and I'm sure as hell positive that he's found a way to make all his numbers work and this thing might just come to fruition. It simply made no sense to me how, but I'll side with the positive folk and say...this Truly looks like it'sa happenin!!!
    Krafty still has years to overturn all the negative he's done to the league, the sport and this team..in my eyes. But, something like this will go a long way to correcting a lot of the harm that his apathy initiated!
     
  23. Revs In First :)

    Aug 15, 2001
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I wasn't watching, but apparently this was even covered on the Channel 5 noon news. Man, they are going through an awful lot of trouble to get season ticket renewals this year.
     
    shanary, BUSA Bulldog and RevsFanDan repped this.
  24. Khkevin

    Khkevin Member

    Sep 16, 2012
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    1
    Great news from all comments and proposed sites! I hope we will get more news and information soon. And....An official announcement by the Revolution ownership in the coming future!
     

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